


Scared of being Saved?

by geekglassesgirl



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Begging, Chains, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Kind Master, Master/Slave, Non-Sexual Slavery, Original Character(s), Past Child Abuse, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Punishment, Saving a slave, Slave Trade, Slavery, Slaves, Trust Issues, Wrongful Imprisonment, caged, chained, childslave, helping a scared child, kindmaster, scared child, scared slave kind master, scaredslave, slavefic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2020-08-11 15:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 9,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20155678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekglassesgirl/pseuds/geekglassesgirl
Summary: In society where slavery is common place, no one really gives a second look to slaves being mistreated on the streets. Everyone just treats their property however they see fit and no one has a problem with it.When a woman finds a scared boy in a cage at the market, she wants to take care of him. As well as get others off her back about not having one. However the child is terrified, as can be expected, and she knows he has lived his whole life in pain.The boy won't trust the woman, he refuses, it'll only get him hurt. But he's smart enough to do what she says. But having been deprived of comfort all his life, he wants to give in but knows then it could be taken away.





	1. Chapter 1

The small child looked at her with terrified eyes

"Please no, don't chain me! I promise I'll be good please!" he begged but she couldn't relent-It needed to be established that he was safe here, even if it meant he was restrained. 

She had no intention of hurting him, but they both needed a night of stability. But his tears pulled at her heart, even so, she clicked the cuffs around the boy's small ankles, making sure not to over tighten them. 

"Are they too tight?" She asked kindly. 

Shocked at even being asked such a question, the boy looked at her wide-eyed before realizing he was making eye contact without permission, and quickly lowered his head and shook no. 

"It's okay, child. It'll be okay" she cooed

She attempts to cover his trembling form with a blanket and he scrambles against the wall, tears streaming down the flushed pink cheeks.  
//  
The boy cried, he was confused and scared. What was this woman playing at? Manipulating him? That must be it, tomorrow she would hurt him. Bad. 

Like so many times he has before, the boy will plead and beg in pain. Perhaps she will restrain him so he can't run away or even move, and afterward, let him lie in his broken state in the dark all alone. 

She will kill him, drug him, cage him like the animal they all said he was before selling him again. 

But the women looked calm, and urged the boy to lie down and covered him in a warm blanket, and for a moment stopped his shaking. 

She was trying to make him feel safe. And that scared him even more. Maybe she wanted to fix him and break him again.  
//  
She reached to wipe the tears from his face, having achieved getting him to lie down and covering his small body, wearing nothing more than rags. The dirt caked on his skin and sweat in his hair clear indications of his past treatment. And his pounding heart she felt through the blanket, her hand rested lightly on his chest, further proved the boy's terror. 

She feels guilty and heavy in her chest but forces a calm, and hopefully kind, smile. 

Reaching to wipe the boys face he flinches and turns away as much as he can with her hand steadying him down. 

The boy can't take it anymore. The distress and despair to much to handled and he begins to sob and weep loudly, failing to keep the sound in his throat. His effort heard in his thick inhales of breath.  
//  
He mutters apologies as the woman leans over him more, surely to hit him and punish him for crying. "Please no I'm sorry...plea.. ase!.."

"Shhh, it's okay, it's alright let it out it's okay to be upset. I know this is hard so let it come. Let it out, I'm not hurting you Okay, just let it out and try to relax" she instructs him sweetly and the boy WANTS to listen. Wants to believe that her words are true and give in to the feeling of comfort the bed and blanket, and even surprisingly her presence, are giving him. 

It takes a few minutes but the boy soon calms himself to breathe evenly and to force his body to stop shaking, biting his lower lip and blinking to keep tears out of his eyes as he stares at this women. 

She stares back for a moment wiping his wet cheeks before giving him a small smile and saying "it'll be okay, child I promise, just try to get some sleep." 

She gets up and walks towards the door and goes to turn out the light.  
"No!" The boy cries out before quickly cowarding behind the blanket again trembling and awaiting punishment. Not only for speaking without permission but for saying no, the word he knew always lead to pain.  
//  
The woman sees the scared little form and sighs to herself before quietly leaving and closing the door.  
//  
At the sound of the door shutting, the boy looks from under the covers to see the woman gone and the light left on. 

Nervously he tries to hide within the blankets as he falls asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Had planned on this just being a short slave fic, but I ended up continuing on and now I have like three more chapters to post. Enjoy and thanks for the feedback!

The boy awakens slowly, letting his eyes open naturally as he enjoys the soft comfort of the bed. 

A bed! He realizes. He bolts upward to look quickly at his surroundings and to remember the events from the previous day. The woman had bought him, had been gentle and even kind. Carried him to the room where she looked over his filthy body and unclean face. Yet placed him down on a clean and soft blanket.

He remembers how she had reached for chains and he shrunk back knowing what they were for and dreaded whatever came next. But the lady had hushed him and tried to comfort him and said it was okay. Had asked if the chains were too tight around his ankles as she carefully put them on, continuing her gentle persona and giving him small weak but kind smiles.

The boy sits for a moment before feeling a strange dampness between his legs. No. He thinks with a scared shock. No no no no no no...as he reaches down go feel the wet blankets and soiled mattress, eyes growing wide as he realizes what he had done.

He had wet the bed. He had ruined the lady's mattress. That's why she put him in the bed-she knew he would screw up and do something wrong. She wanted him to do something wrong just so she could hurt him.  
The boy cried and trembled as he frantically moves out of the covers, now heavy and damp. 

He sits towards the bottom of the bed trying to keep his panic at bay, but still shaking and pulling hopelessly at the chains around his ankles.

"Please....please...please..." he cries as he lets go of the metal cuffs and folds himself inwards. The woman was going to hurt him. Was going to punish him for wetting the bed and ruining her nice mattress. Saying that's why animals like him weren't allowed on the furniture, that they ruin anything nice and weren't allowed near it for that reason. 

He sat on the bed with the blankets and sheets crumpled everywhere and what little rags he had for clothes feeling sticky on his tiny body. He wanted to melt away, to disappear, didn't want to face the wrath and anger of his new master- no mistress. 

"She had been nice because she wanted me to slip up!" he thinks. She tried to trick him into being bad and giving her a reason to punish him.

He shivered at the fact he had let her-had fallen asleep in the bed. Large tears rolled down his face and his nose ran all down his shirt and his lower lip trembled as he drew shaky breaths.

She would be angry with him and he knew it.  
//  
The woman had woken up at sunrise, the light coming through her window. She had gotten up and opened the door to see the child curled up in the bed looking more comfortable then he had the night before. Now relaxed and cuddled into the blankets. 

She sees his shoulder through his worn shirt and realizes she had no clean clothes for the boy to put on and hits herself for putting him in the bed while still full of sweat of dirt-it most certainly couldn't be comfortable. So she looked at her watch and then the boy again before closing the door and leaving the house to pick some things up from a nearby store.

The moment she returned, however, she heard the struggling sobs from the room and quickly went to investigate the cries.

When she opened the door the boy was curled up and shaking in fear and sadness. Instinctually she began to rush over to try to console him.

As she neared the edge of the bed however the child looked up and noticed her with a scared shriek before diving to the floor, scrambling to get as far away as possible while still repeating his begs for mercy.

"Please...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to I'm sorry please don't hurt me....." he cried squeezing his eyes shut to ignore the world around him hoping it would all go away. 

The woman, however, hesitated, confused about what was wrong, and sat onto the bed to try to speak to the child. When she got on the bed however-She realized why the boy was crying and asking not to be hurt.


	3. Chapter 3

Calmly she takes a deep breath and stands, causing the boy to retract and again try to hide away while she collects the blankets and bedding and drags it out into the hallway and in a pile next to the laundry. Then she grabbed a couple of towels from the bathroom on her way back to the boy still shivering on the floor. Laying one towel on the mattress to cover the forming stain, she carefully took the other to sit across from the boy on the floor.

"Please I'm sorry please don't hurt me don't hurt me don't hurt me..." he began to repeat as a mantra as he felt her presence approach. 

Slowly sliding across the floor so she could reach the boy and was almost his side, she gently spoke soothing words and wrapped the towel, seeming larger then it was around the boy's malnourished form, to help stop or at least slow his shaking.  
//  
"Hey, I want you to listen to Me, Okay? Do you think you can do that?" She asked cautiously-trying to match the boy's emotions. 

The boy shakes his head yes, more in fear of the consequences of saying no and less actually being able to listen. None the less the woman continued.

"I know your upset and scared and it's Okay. But the mess is all cleaned up now, see?" She references the towel now sitting on the bed and the obvious lack of bedding. 

The boy of course noticing this, takes it as he will no longer be given any blankets, and with them confiscated so was the comfort and warmth he was so deprived and desperate for. He knew it had been too good to be true. Knew that is was all a trick.

The woman saw the flash of fear in his face and tried continuing on. "See we'll get blankets all washed up after and it'll be good as new. But right now I think it would be a good idea to get you cleaned up, yeah?" 

She asked and the boy turned to look at her, his heart still pumping so hard it was hurting and having cried so much he felt dehydrated, more than he normally was. Despite the aching fear, he risked a look at her face and was overwhelmed to see her giving him, not angry and mean scowls and stares, but instead her soft smile and calm-if not sorrow filled-eyes. 

With this distraction it takes a moment for the question to be registered even as a question, and then go give an unsure nod. Mind still racing with ways this was all a trick.

He had once been thrown into a really cold lake for complaining to be itchy and smelly because of all the dirt and the man he belonged too all those years ago had just tossed him in. Only saving him from drowning when he realized the boy would die from cold water shock and saying he had spent too much money on him to let him go to waste. 

But he hadn't complained this time, then again he had wet the bed. But wanting to believe the woman and afraid of saying no compelled him to just agree.

Happy with his answer the woman smiles and continued to speak in a soft voice and reached for the boy's ankles. They immediately being pulled closer to him before he forced them to stay put and allow the woman to hold them. 

"I think we should get those off, I think you'll be a good boy without them, won't you?" 

Aware of the deeper agreement he was making, the boy gave a slow but deep nod. Telling himself to just be good. Be good. Be good. He repeated in his head as he strained to not move or flinch when the woman pulled out a little key and released his ankles.  
//  
The woman slides the cuffs away and focused on the small form in front of her-over obsessed with the child's malnourished and weak state. 

After letting his ankles stay immobile for a moment, the boy cautiously pulls his knees to his chest once again and sat with a look of unknown anticipation.

She let him rest for a moment while she watched and waited on his breathing, wanting it to come to a normal steady pace before doing much more.

The boy having calmed down, or at least appearing so, she speaks and starts to stand all at once causing a small flinch from the child but relaxing a little again. 

"Okay let's go get a bath then, huh?" And she picks up the boy and carries him to the bathroom.

He stays still in her arms, not resisting the contact or being carried. However seeming to be petrified of fear, he didn't dare make a sound and refused to make eye contact-only staring at his hands as he pulled them close to his stomach protectively. Both of which he only did in panic so the woman supposed this was good but felt discouraged at his silence. 

Getting the boy to trust her would be a long journey.


	4. 4

Eyes downcast his face frozen in a state of uneasiness, she watched and debated whether or not to close the bathroom door. She didn't want to make him feel trapped in the smaller room but didn't like the idea of him running out and hiding someplace in the house or leaving through an unlocked door.

She settled on closing the door but not locking it and tried to give the boy some space as he watched her nervously from the corner of his eye. The bathroom small and leaving him to stand just behind her as she bent over the tub.

He seemed to shrink back a bit at the sudden torrent of the running water but just bit his lower lip and shut his eyes to try to ignore it.

The woman filled the tub about halfway with warm clean water and urged the boy over and had him place his hand in to feel the temperature. 

"Is it too hot?" She asked sweetly and the boy shook his head no. He knew what came next and was uneasy about it. The woman saw this too and tried to ease him into it.

"Here let me help you take off your shirt," she said and pulled the torn top off of him, leaving him in his soiled shorts.

She went to toss the old piece of clothing away when the child looked at her with frantic eyes and said "No!" She turned to look at him with a surprised look on her face and he quickly retracted and added "please."  
She gave him a small frown and slight nod, "Okay we'll wash them and keep them, but I've got other clothes you can wear today." 

She wants to help the child hold onto whatever comfort he has but was surprised that it was the tattered clothes he had been wearing that would bring that sense of stability. But agreeing to save the tattered fabric seemed to calm the boy and he went quiet again, his silence acting as his agreement on the matter.  
/  
The boy took a breathe and eased his shorts down and stepped out of them, clenching his tiny fists at his side and avoiding eye contact with the woman. 

She would see now. See all the scars and bruises that littered his body and she would be disgusted at the sight of him. He expected her to yell and demand to know what he had done to deserve all the scars, for her to be angry with him. He hadn't meant to be bad all those times before. He wanted to be good, he wanted her to know he could but once she all the scars she would know that he messed up over and over again. She would yell that he was worthless and damaged, hit him. He pained at the incoming shouts... 

Her silence however was more unbearable. 

"I'm sorerr...reeyy.." he cried out as he felt himself start to hyperventilate. The silence breaking his resolve and making his body feel weak and scared at her silent anger.  
The woman quickly acted to refocus the boy, "there's nothing to be sorry about child, let's get you cleaned up." She said assuringly. 

The boy tried to swallow the lump in his throat as the woman gently took his hand and helped him into the tub.

The water was warm and welcoming and the sensation eased his nerves and relieved some of the aching in his muscles. Lessening the constricting feeling in his chest. Even so, he didn't dare raise his head.

This woman was so confusing to him, why was she kind to him? Why had she bought him the day before when he had done nothing but eye her warily.


	5. The Day Before

His cage small and providing no protection from the sounds or stares of the people walking by, some snickering or eyeing him as though he were their prey and they the predator. 

But whenever someone spoke to the man who owned him about buying him, they always grew angry at his condition and stomped off. One older man kicking the boy's cage as he left leaving it toppled on its side and leaving the boy lying, cramped and hurt, as the metal bars pushed against his skin.

There were nine different people in the past three days, all of whom turned away after hearing what his price and past were. The man apparently over-charging for a child slave who wasn't good for anything more than hard labor or torture for those who liked to make slaves suffer. But the man kept his price firm, saying the boy had a higher value then he did. 

The boy knew this too, he was not well trained and the marks and scars along his body decreased his value. Sold from master to master, he was worth less than the food required to keep him alive.  
The only reason he was still alive was that the shopkeeper figured he could make money off of him, damaged or not.  
But as three days passed and all possible buyers revoked their interests once learning details of the boy, the child was sure he was going to die. Whether by starvation or sickness.  
But the woman had stopped to look at him, at first with the same predatorial eyes but then strange interest and determination.

//

The woman spotted the child in the small cage, looking at him and watching his behavior. His dirty and scared face tired and now looking back at her with disgust in his eyes trying to hide the pain.

He was filthy and clearly covered in bruises and scars and winced in pain when his cage shifted as things were pushed around to make room for more customers.

He was obviously a slave, clear enough by his position of being for sale, and the disregard the shopkeeper had for him. He couldn't be very old, most likely sold by his parents at the age of five, the age which it was legal to sell a child into slavery. 

Often when children were sold they would die from mistreatment, sickness or even pure exhaustion as they were worked as laborers in fields or some even used as sex slaves, their bodies being little more than something to get off at. 

She couldn't tell for sure which, or if both, had been what the child had experienced. 

She was often ridiculed by others for not owning a slave, many thinking it was because she wasn't rich enough to buy one. This was not the case, she simply was unsure how to obtain or care for a slave, determined not to follow in the steps of others as they abused and even tortured the fellow beings for amusement. 

If she were to do it, she would do it her own way. 

But looking at the tiny child confined by metal bars, shivering at the slightest breeze and failing to stop tears from running down his face. She wondered more and more. 

He seemed close to death, his fragile frame and flushed completion consequences from poor nutrition and care.

Well, there was no harm and asking about the boy. She approached the man running his stand selling an assortment of items from tools to asseccories and clothing, and asked: "What is the story of the child?" Referencing the cage.

Slowly and quietly the man told her how he was given to a merchant by his last owner, him wanting to be rid of him for all the trouble he caused and wasn't worth the warmth to keep him breathing. He had taken the boy expecting a large payout when he sold him but intended to get rid of him if he wasn't sold by the end of the day if he survived that long anyhow. Having no intention of wasting food on the starving slave. 

Thoughtfully the woman watched the bearded man with judgment, finding his coldness towards the young person appalling. 

//

The boy strained to listen as the two spoke from his little cage, big enough for him to sit with his knees pulled up and head down. 

Of course, the part he heard was that of his fate. His death should be coming by days end, he had suspected it to be soon but struggled to keep the small cry from coming out. Most certainly audible to the man and woman speaking about him. 

Then she looked at him with such fierceness in her eyes he assumed it could only be filled with hatred. She said another few quiet words to the man, before briskly walking away again. 

The man saw him eyeing her as she walked away then looking to him once she was out of sight. The older man scolded him and told him to keep his disgusting eyes to himself, him not worthy of eye contact and being nothing more than a broken animal he had to only put up with for a few more hours, murmuring the last part to himself.

As the evening approached the man started to pack up his things yet again, tossing an old blanket half hazardly over the boy's cage.

The boy cried, he would die tonight, he was sure of it. 

The boy swallows his sobs as he hears movement through the blanket, too scared to dare to try to look under it. Then the cage was lifted and laid heavily on a table, quickly the cover was taken off and he saw the woman from earlier.

//

The woman had said she needed to think it over, surprised by the asking price and story of the slave.  
When she watched from a distance the man beginning to pack up his things, and the disregard he had on his face when tossing an old cloth on top of the boy, she approached once again. This time with every intention of buying the slave.

//

The boy thought with fear as he realized the man wouldn't take care of him himself, it was this woman he was employing to do it all along. As he was hauled from the cage and his hands forcefully chained behind his back and a gag tied in his mouth, the boy trembled in terror of death.

//

The boy was shaking like something horrible, the chains around his wrists jingling.

Roughly the man stood him on the ground grasping his shoulder tightly, so much so it would surely leave bruises. He pushes the boy to allow her to reach him, letting go as she takes him, holding him lighter than the man- it seeming unnecessary to be so rough with the fragile body, but working to appear as though she was holding tight.

This fails her as the boy escapes her and starts to run as far as the weak legs would take him. 

He cried through the rag in his mouth when he stumbled and fell, getting caught by the man once again.

The woman held him tightly in her arms as he struggled to get away, trying to escape her grasp. 

The man then passes her a small bag, instructing her to use it if he was too much trouble on the way, carefully he revealed the drugs before placing them back in a bag for the woman to carry as she balanced him in her arms.

//

The boy watched with pleading eyes, unaware of the exact use but quickly came to the realization he had been fearing as they finished the conversation. Whatever it was, it was meant to kill him. If he caused to much trouble before arriving at their final destination, the man instructed the woman would just kill him on the way. All the energy remaining in his body swept away and he fell lifelessly into the woman's grip. His whole existence was exhausted and aware of its peril.

//

The boy relaxed forcefully, tears shining in his eyes and constricted breaths in his chest. 

The woman knew he was scared, but once she got him home they could start to get on solid ground. Start to get use to this new situation.

The boy was scared and cried as he was carried, looking at the woman with hatred in his eyes and aching with the knowledge she was taking him to death.

But soon the sway of the woman's walk nursed his exhaustion and caused him to close his eyes, tears falling as he fell asleep.


	6. 6

The boy let the woman wash him as he sat silently in the water, it taking so long for the woman to thoroughly wash his hair the once warm water grew cold.

The woman watched the child's face never look up to her, giving no resistance to her helping him clean up. While lathering him with soap and washing it off with a cloth, she made an effort to mentally note every scar or scratch that was on his body. 

Some she hoped she could ask him about once they got more comfortable with each other, like the small-almost round-scars on his upper arms that were pale pink and seemed to swell upward.

Some she didn't need to ask. Like the ones on the boys back. 

Long and painful strikes from a whip crisscross his back, too many to keep count and determine exactly how many strikes he had been given over the years. 

Dark blue and purple bruises had already appeared from his rough handling just a day ago. And his neck muscles stiff and tense as she tried to coax him out of his forced position, straining to hug his knees as close to his chest as possible. 

Had the child ever been hugged before? Did he know what the concept meant? Surely his parents must have hugged him before selling him, but she rethought the idea. If his parents had chosen to sell him, how attached could they have been and how attached could they have allowed for him to become. 

The woman shakes her head in silent disapproval, the boy now shivering in the tub as the water swirled away down the drain and bowed his head as though in shame.

The boy shook, he wanted to cry. To sob and plead and beg forgiveness. Except he wasn't sure what for, but there had to be something he had done wrong. There was always something.

His new owner had been eerily silent as she washed away weeks worth of sweat and grime. Often seeming disappointed with the state of his body as she examined his injuries both present and past. Scars and swollen bruises littering his skin.

"There all cleaned up, doesn't that feel better?"

The boy nods, the woman replicates the gesture taking a towel and wrapping it gingerly around the boy. Following her guidance, he stands and waits outside of the bath as she fiddled with rinsing dirt off the ceramic. 

She kneels in front of the boy and gasps at the large tears dripping down his face, his lower lip quivering as he bit down on it to try to hide it's movement and silence oncoming wails. Instinctively she reaches to wipe the tears away and the child flinches so fast she worries if he hurt his neck. 

Softly caressing his cheek and forcing him to look up at her, his eyes large and red from his crying and eyelids blinking rapidly to disperse the tears which made his eyes seem to shine. 

"Why are you crying?" she asks more shocked and panicked then she had wanted to sound, the boy interpreting this as anger erupted with panicked words.

"I'm sorry please don't hurt meeee.. I'm sorry I know I was bad before I promise I won't do it again please I'm sorry please don't kill me... "

The woman stops him abruptly, "Oh no child! No one is going to kill you and you didn't do anything wrong. You just wet the bed that's all and it's all cleaned up now okay, I promise you your safe."

"But I always mess up, I didn't mean to be bad those times but they said I was and I know you don't want damaged property but I'm sorry please don't send me back, I'll be good I can be I promise pleeease...hhhuhh" 

The words were stretched out and high pitched as they came from the boy, whose throat was so dry and sore it hurt to speak. His jaw ached from grinding his teeth in anticipation and while his muscles were strained he felt weak and limp in his legs. His knees ready to buckle and unable to support his weight any longer.

But the woman couldn't see all of this. 

What she did see was a flash of emotion, of terror and sadness, unlike she had before. Before his pleads had been in self-preservation, begging forgiveness and hiding away in sadness. But this time the feelings poured out of the tiny boy feeling heavier then he was as she lifted him in the towel to help him get into some clothes and wash away the tear stains on his face as he grew silent again. Fearful his outburst had only irritated her.

The woman looked at the heaving boy with sad eyes as she considered what to do next.


	7. 7

Mindfully getting dressed as the woman said nothing but looked at him with a face of concern, the boy tried to regulate his breathing. 

Currently his heart was racing and his body trembling. But the woman wasn't hitting him or dragging him forcefully out of the nice and clean bathroom. Instead, she stared at him, seeming to be enhanced with his face and avoiding eyes.

She's trying to decide how to punish him he thought, wishing she would just do it and get it over with. But then he cringed and regretted even having the thought.  
No... he didn't want that. Getting punished always meant pain and hurt. He didn't know what he wanted from his new owner but wished so very much that whatever it was she would do it already...

She touched his shoulders comfortingly and moved wet hair out of his face as she spoke

"You're really scared aren't you child?" She questioned softly, unsure of what she expected for an answer-if one at all. 

In response the boy nudged himself closer to the wall, distancing himself from her as much as possible and making himself as small as he could. But even then he was still within arms reach of the woman who waited patiently for a response.

He wouldn't give her one, he concluded after first spending a moment too long to actually consider the question, nevermind an answer. Admitting his fear would only give the woman more power and he didn't want to feel any weaker than he already was.

His silence and body language were as clear as him shouting yes into her face. 

She sighed and stood up, holding her hand out the child. "Okay then, come with me..."

Small eyes grew wide with terror and his shaking body stilled as the boy eyed the soft hand outstretched to him. This was it...she has finally had enough of him and was going to take him and hurt him. How would she do it he wondered? Would it be like his other master's punishments or had she thought of a new way to torture him?

He considered his options and accepted that the consequences would only be worse if he disobeyed her, so he shyly extended his hand.

She would grab if roughly and lead him angrily and silently out of the room. Then without a word, she would punish him even as he begged and cried. The boy was dying at the anticipation  
  
Instead, however, she gently grasped his small hand and walked with him through the hallways and into a kitchen. 

As they neared the table and the matching wooden chairs, the boy sunk back again. 

The woman eased him forward and picked him up after his small body became stiff and refused to move.

She sat him gently on one of the brown chairs, and he gripped the armrests tightly, closing his eyes and bowing his head. 

This was her plan, he had been tied up before. His first master had found joy in binding him to chairs and bedposts. He waited for the feeling of ropes around his wrists or the sound of clinking chains.

Instead all that came was a startled shriek from the boy as the woman ran her fingers through his hair, and turned away towards a cupboard, leaving the boy unsure and confused. 

The woman glanced sadly at the boy, hurt by his evident fear of her. She knew she would need to earn his trust but even now after a bath and a nights sleep they seemed more distanced then before.

What the bath had done though, was reveal the extent of which the boy had clearly been starved. 

His belly swollen from emptiness, hands and feet discolored, and his eyes glazed over now that he wasn't staring at her in panic. 

The child needed to eat, and at this point so did the woman. Taking care of the abused child was taking its toll. 

Thoughtfully she found some of her favorite sweet crackers, knowing they would be light enough on the boy's stomach and help fill what was surely a painful hunger.

He eyed the snacks longingly as she opened the wrapping and held one out to him. He didn't move to accept it and only kept his eyes focused just below it. 

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked and the boy nodded sadly, ashamed to even admit it. 

When the boy avoided eye contact she sighed slightly and took a bite out of the cracker she had offered before reaching in again and bringing a few to sit on the table right in front of the child. 

"It's okay go on and try them, they taste really good!" She cooed before turning away towards the fridge. 

The boy was fully aware of their presence, he wanted to give in and eat them. But it was another trick. He wasn't supposed to have food and he knew it. The woman couldn't actually want him to eat, but to mess up and do something wrong. Give her an excuse. 

But she had told him to try them, would she get upset if he didn't? 

Slowly he reached and took one from the table, glancing to see the woman's back turned away and took it as an opportunity to bite it without her staring at him. 

It was good, his tummy rumbled and felt queasy with the sudden supply of nutrition and he smiled slightly at the taste.

It was sweet almost like cookies but be wasn't allowed cookies. It was soft to chew and almost seemed to absorb some of the upset in his stomach. 

When he looked up after his second bite he saw that she was watching him again. 

Scared he held it close to him and curled in a bit to hide from her oncoming shouts of anger. 

But instead she asked him, "Is it good?"

Responding at first with nothing more than a nod before adding after a moment of silence. 

"Please don't take it from me!" He begged little tears in the corners of his eyes. 

The woman shook her head, "It's alright I'm not going to take it away from you, Okay?" 

He didn't understand but agreed anyways. Whatever she meant he still had his snack in front of him and wanted to take advantage of it while it lasted.

The woman watched his small head look back down and eat the crackers as quickly as he could, still afraid they'd be taken away. 

She carried over two glasses of water and placed one slowly on the table and held her own near her chest. 

She sat across from the boy so she could reach him but gave him space as he retracted into the back of the chair. 

She nodded as he dared to look at the drink and as he took at first small and then big drinks of it. Quenching his thirst and making his body feel better from the strange pain he always had. 

The boy stayed silent as he finished of the crackers and grasped the seat of the chair, not daring to raise his head.

He was still hungry but he wasn't allowed to say so. He couldn't ask for more or be greedy after being generously being given food. 

Reading his emotions correctly the woman gave him a handful of the small crackers.

He looked up at her then. Not in fear or panic or sadness. He looked her in the eyes and she watched as the slightest of smiles grew on his face. 

It was a gesture of appreciation, and the boy looked a few seconds before he shied away again. Almost as though he had forgotten then remembered his manners. 

She gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile before taking a few bites herself. 

The child's face looked with purpose as he watched her, making sure once more she wasn't angry before smiling to himself again.


	8. 8

"Let's take a break for now, we don't want you to eat too much too quickly or else it might upset your stomach." The woman said softly while pulling the crackers out of reach and putting them away.

The boy looked down, scared again and sure he had done something wrong to make her take the food away. 

The boy sunk into himself, his shoulders rising and head bowing in fear and hurt. It made the woman want to cry at the sight of the child seeming so helpless. 

"It's okay, we can have more later, I promise. I just don't want you to feel sick. Okay?" She tells him hoping to return him to the smiling child he had been just moments ago. 

She is disappointed, although not surprised when the little head doesn't raise to look her in the eye but carefully gives a slight nod. 

The quiet shine of tears makes her chest ache and she forces herself to take a breath.

"Okay well why don't we go sit down for while?" She asks and holds her hand out for to boy to take.

He hesitates. The hand looks warm and soft and has been comforting each time he had held it before. But with the food just taken away, he realized he had been falling for more tricks.

He had been happy when she gave him the snack and then took it away again as soon as he forgot himself and became attached to it. Attached to the feeling of being fed and comforted by the strange sounds in his belly subsiding. 

Now she held her hand out, not taking up his on her own but waiting for him to accept it. For him to trust her. 

The boy didn't want to, didn't want to submit himself to gaining another luxury to have it taken away. But the hand stayed outreached and the room silent. It only took a few moments for the boy to decide to avoid provoking the woman if only to avoid punishment.

Accepting the hand he lingers a moment as it starts to guide him through another doorway. This one opening up to a sitting room with very comfy looking seats and warm air coming from the sunlight shining through the window.

The boy walked softly, afraid of making too much noise with his feet and reminding the woman who she had brought into the warm room. 

However when the boy stood on the spot on the floor that was directly hit with the sunbeam, he froze. Not for long, and he didn't dare struggle against the guiding hand holding his own otherwise to let her notice his pause.

The woman did sense the child's stop in the sun however and smiled softly at the innocence the child carried despite whatever horrors he must have gone through. 

Continuing to walk though she showed the boy to the couch where he glanced at her shyly, unsure of himself before finally building up the courage to climb up and sit down on the furniture. Holding himself tense while he still expected her to scold him for his behavior. Instead, she praised him, she wanted to show him that it was okay and that she wouldn't hurt him. 

"That's good, it's really comfy isn't it?" She asked and accepted his weary nodding as an answer. "Can I sit down with You?" She asks, wanting to try to see how the boy would handle being asked a question, given a choice.

Feeling his shoulders tense and his heart rate jump, the boy cautiously nodded to the lady's request to sit with him. He wasn't really sure what she meant to do once she sat down, or if that was even the answer she wanted, but he shrunk in fear at the idea of saying no. Knowing such an answer wouldn't only be ignored but punished. 

His new owner sat next to him, leaving him trapped in between her and the arm of the couch. He felt small next to the size of the things around him and tried his best to control his rigid muscles which while tense, were shaking slightly. 

An awkward and silent moment passed where the woman watched the boy with what she hoped appeared as kind and caring eyes. The child, however, felt her gaze painfully, trying to turn himself away from her line of sight as much as possible. 

When he started to turn away from her, the woman realized the boys fear was only growing in the quiet and felt uncomfortable and struggled to find words. 

"I'm going to go start the washing, Okay? And then I have a surprise for You! Alright?" 

The word made his heart stop and his blood freeze. A surprise? No that wasn't alright, those were never good. But the woman had already stood up and walked out of the room before he could question or before she could see his panic. 

No, no, no no no no nono... he didn't want to get hurt again. Didn't want whatever surprise she had planned to give him. Having been given several "surprises" before, his second master, in particular, having been fond of the boy's startled cries..."no no no no!"

The words were rushed and soft but panicked as they came from him in mumbles. 

He looked to the bright window again, this time noticing the door a few feet from it. It's window shining in sunlight, and leading outside. 

Leading out.

It wasn't a conscious decision but instincts as they took over when he heard steps approaching from the hall. 

But when his feet touched the ground outside, and the door had been closed as silently as possible had the boy realized what he was doing. 

He knew he was in trouble, no matter how calm the woman had been with him, this was surely going to rise anger out of her. 

For a split second he reached to open the door again. Maybe he could go back inside before she noticed he had runoff. But twisting the knob to find it had locked from the inside when it shut, he realized he couldn't go back in. Then he felt the doorknob being jumbled as a key was pushed in to unlock it, and he heard her calling from the other side as she struggled with the door.

"It's Okay!" she faintly said. But it wasn't okay. She knew he had left, had run, even if he was still just outside the door. If the surprise she had for him wasn't going to hurt before, then it was now.

He started to run. As clumsy steps made him struggle to find footing and his muscles weak and aching from disuse he still ran. For a moment he thought he was going to get away.  
  
For a moment. 

The previous day replayed in his head as she caught up to him. Everything seeming to be on repeat.


	9. 9

//  
The day before, holding the small form in her arms, the woman walked home with the scared and even angry child. 

The shopkeeper given her something to give the boy if he became to difficult, something to help him relax and sleep. She had no intention however, of even needing it. 

While he shredded small tears and quaked slightly in her grip, the boy didn't dare move. Holding still as if frozen in terror.

But as daylight fell and they neared her small home, the boy suddenly started to struggle. 

He fell from her arms and started to move away from her as fast as he could but his weak legs would give our after only a few steps and she would pick him up again.

But now the boy started screaming. Kicking and trying to hit the woman however he could. Only stopping when she brought him into the room and laid him on the bed, switching from fighting to begging her not to hurt him.

The boy repeated the same tactic when the woman caught up to him as he tried to run from the house. He kicked her and fought, but harder then the day before and with more strength which the nights sleep had given him.

That was until she brought him inside the house again, where he started crying pleas and apologies to have them only become incoherent sobs as he was returned to the room once again.


	10. 10

No...nononononono the boy's thoughts were running faster than his tiny legs. Thin shoulders shook in pattern with deep breaths and terrified sobs. He had tried to run away. He had gotten caught and now the woman was finally going to kill him. 

With some struggle with his flailing limbs and fast kicks, the woman brought him back into the room. It was there the boy switched from bleeding anger to broken fear. 

"No! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please No! I don't wanna..i don't wanna..." the words faded from clear shouts to their chocked sobs. The boy finding himself unable to finish the sentence.

The child melted into her as she sat on the bed with him. Holding her she hugged him back and he seemed to go limp with emotions.

She just let him lay there, his head relaxing on her lap, for a long while until he calmed down. 

The boy sniffed up his tears and kept his eyes away from the face of his owner. 

Why was she holding him now? Why was she trying to comfort him when she should be punishing him? Once again this woman confused him more then he could handle. He just wanted to know what she wanted from him? What was she trying to trick with and so many more questions rolled through his head.

But he also didn't want to know. Right now he was cuddled up in her lap as his breathing even out and body stopped shaking. 

Her hand rubbed his back in calming circular motions and hummed softly when she felt his heart pounding through his chest. 

How was it the boy felt so safe and so scared at the same time? The comfort of being safe had long been gone and now whatever this feeling was, as close and magical it was to what safe must be, the boy didn't think it was real. 

But he wanted it to be. He wanted to be safe right now. For the woman's gentle hums and words to be true and that he wasn't about to get punished for running away. So he held on to it for as long as he could. Stretched it out as much as possible.

And he whimpered when the woman moved to sit him up.

She softly moved him so he was supporting himself, aching in her chest at the sound that came from the small child when she did so. He had held on so tightly. Finding herself talking a deep calming breath, she knelt on the floor and face the boy sitting on the bed. 

"Okay, okay." She spoke aloud more to herself. The boy kept his eyes down and only moved to wipe away tears with the back of his hand as he anticipated what was coming.


	11. 11

"I want you to listen to me, okay?" Her voice was soft but had a firm tone.

"I want you to tell me, Okay? I want you to tell me why you ran away?" She asked, trying to fight the strange resignation in herself.

The boy squeezed his eyes shut tight and was silent for a moment. 

"Come on you have to tell me why.." she started to repeat after the silence told her he wasn't going to answer. 

"I'm sorry! I was scared, I was scared, I was scared...." his voice died out as his knees came up to his chest so he could hug them and hide his face. 

He wanted to tell her more but he wasn't sure how. These feelings harsh and angry in his body and his mind struggling to register what they mean. 

But it scared him. These feelings scared him and he didn't know how to say that. 

"I know, it's okay." She tried, hoping to calm him down.

"But when you get scared, Okay, you can't run away.." the boy's tiny lip trembled and he bit it to keep it from her view. Out of words and not wanting to get into any more trouble, not wanting to make any of this worse, he nodded. 

He heard the words she was saying, even in a way knew what she meant by them. But still only wanted to cry and hid away.

She smiled softly, happy to have seemed to have been heard by the boy, at least enough to agree with her. 

Standing up she kept her gaze on the boy as he followed her movement and relaxed his knees from his protective position.

The boy watches as she offers her hand to him, and wanting to feel her comforting presence again he goes to take it. She doesn't seem angry with him...but then she said "come on, let's go look at your surprise..!" 

The boy reeled backwards.  
"No I said I'm sorry please I won't run away again I promise no don't hurt me please no don't please I'll be good! Please don't be angry!" He cried as he clawed to the far side of the bed to hide against the wall.

The woman seemed confused, "what?! No, it's okay no one's going to hurt you..." she said no one in hope to comfort him, but considers if now if it is just to comfort herself, feeling hurt as the boys fear of her. 

"You not angry?" The boy asked with teary eyes.  
"No, it's okay. But from now on we can't try to run off whenever we get scared right?" 

"If your not mad why do you want me to be surprised?" 

The woman realized then that the child had probably only ever had bad things happen as surprizes. 

"Okay how about I bring it in here Okay! I promise it's a good thing, okay?" She asked sweetly.

"Okay" the child answered sounding unsure and worried but nodding his head all the same. 

"But you have to stay here right, I'll only be a moment." Again he nodded and moved towards the center of the bed when she smiled. 

When the woman left she waited outside the door a moment to see if he would try to run again. When she didn't hear any footsteps, she went to the sitting area and on the couch where the boy had been sitting was his surprise. Hastily tossed there when she had to run after him. 

The boy waited like he was told, part of him telling to make another run for it, but he wanted to do what he was told. The woman hadn't been angry. She had held him and made him feel better. 

It wasn't long till she came through the doorway again.

"I stayed here!" the boy told her, trying to make the point that he was good. He could listen. He could be good.

"I know, good job!" She praised taking a step towards him. 

It hasn't been conscious but the boy sat back a bit at her coming towards him with a hand behind her back....what if she lied!? What if she was going to hurt him with whatever was behind her back?  
Reading the fear easily now, the woman comforted him "it's nothing bad I promise okay."

The boy didn't respond but just sunk into himself, and didn't move again as she sat down on the bed with him. 

The woman had thought to tell him to close his eyes but realized that would only make him more nervous. So instead she slowly drew out the surprize behind her and watched as the boys face reacted..


	12. 12

The boy's eyes widened as he looked at the soft toy held out in front of him. He had once had a bear-like that except it was torn and ripped on his paws. 

He remembered how they took it from him, how the small stuffed animal had come apart in the game of tug of war when his first master took it away. He didn't deserve it, he had said, "you will not waste time with such things..." 

But now the woman held out a stuffed bear bigger than he once had, his brown fur soft looking and small stitched mouth and black beaded eyes making the boy smile.

Wait no..he shouldn't be smiling. It wouldn't be for him anyways...

The woman urged him to take hold of it, warmed by the sight of the child's small smile. 

"You mean it's for me?" The boy asked, scared of the answer.

Dropping it in his hands the woman nodded. "Do you like him?" She asked

Shyly the boy shook yes, but quickly asking "Are you going to take him from me?" His voice was small and unsure of what would happen if he accepted the gift and grew attached to it. Wondering if she had only given it to him to take away again. 

"No I promise he's yours Okay?" She told him, the promise being genuine. She only hoped the boy saw that it was too.

Hugging it a little closer, the boy rubbed the bear's smooth eye with his finger and traced out the sewn-on smile with his finger and admired the warm comfort that was his new bear.

"Thank you!"

It was quiet and shy, almost inaudible, but said with a small smile which made her smile too.

"Your welcome."

The boy cuddled his new friend closer, and brought the bear into the hug too.


End file.
